Madness is Subjective
by Synikalangel
Summary: Following the defeat of Hawk Moth, Paris has lost their Ladybug, but the problem is, only Adrien Agreste can remember his friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. What may seem like simple confusion leads to a dangerous plot of domination and subversion of the Miraculous in the worst imaginable way. (Marichat/Adrinette
1. Gone

**AUTHOR NOTE: Phew…not an AU…technically…still following events…of the show…just going my own way when they 'defeat' Hawk Moth. Hope you enjoy! *scrambles away* PLEASE ENJOY! !**

**Chapter One: Gone**

Fractures cascaded violently through the air, and her slender fingers reached out to touch them. She glossed over the smooth surfaces, feeling not a single imperfection, as if the cracks were a reflection of her own mental state, and her face contorted painfully.

"Illusion," she spat. "All illusion and misdirection," she hissed, grabbed her head, tossing it from side to side. "With the desperation of cruelty wrought by grace and imperfection we have created a cruel illusion," she shrieked, rocking back and forth as she dropped to her knees, pain erupting through her chest.

Buzzing sounded above her fragile form as she shriveled into the smallest form possible, the shrill sounds escaping her cracked and bloody lips barely human.

"We need assistance on level four," someone shouted, and her body was thrashing, violently.

"Trying to trick me," she accused, convulsing as the pain dominated her spine, causing her to convulse uncontrollably. "T-tricking the mind," she whispered as the needle bit her arm, bluebell eyes wide, frantically darting around the room that was far too white. Calming. Someone said it was supposed to be calming, but the effect was far more maddening, amplified by the surety that she wasn't crazy.

"It's okay," a man whispered, his mouth touching her ear, hands caressing her shoulders, sliding down her body in ways that should only be preserved for darkened rooms with intimate meanings. "I've got you," he said. "Let yourself relax."

***POV Change***

Adrien wrapped the emerald scarf around his neck slowly, averting his orbs to the floor. "I don't know what to tell you, Nino." He was careful to keep his voice even, but the uneven tremor still vibrated through the statement.

"Dude, _nobody_ blames you. I mean, it's not like you _knew_ your father was a super villain or anything," he offered, but Adrien flinched, pulling further away.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, frowning. "I feel like I should have though," he grunted, tossing his books into his bag carelessly.

"Why? Why was it your job to know when he fooled everybody else? Because you were his son? No offense dude…but he…he didn't exactly spend a lot of time around you, did he?"

The words stung more than Nino meant, and tears glistened in his eyes as he turned away. His absent father had been after the Miraculous for years because he'd wanted to resurrect Adrien's mother. So, his father…cared more for a woman who had already passed on…than his living son.

"I j-just…should have known," he bit out slowly. Not to mention the fact that _he_ was Chat Noir, the defender of Paris. One of the most trusted Guardians over the entire city…and its most hated villain lived in the same home as him.

"Dude…"

"Stop!" His snarl was harsher than he'd meant to let out, but he let it stand before shaking his head, his voice finally breaking. "I j-just need time, please."

He felt his best friend reaching, but he staggered forward, stumbling down the steps of the classroom that had been long empty of anyone else. The cavernous room was a reflection of his torturous soul, and he felt his footfalls echoing painfully back at him, bouncing around in his mind. _Alone._

Adrien was horribly alone. It had only been a week since the battle with Hawk Moth, his very own father, but Ladybug had made herself scarce, and the media had alienated him beyond the point of redemption….nobody so much as looked his way in fear he'd akumatize them on the spot. He didn't have that power of course, but still. He couldn't reveal he was Chat, the one who'd brought his own father down..saved all of Paris after Ladybug disappeared without a word…so he was stuck…_alone_…chastised…angry…hurt…

Even…Marinette…his beautiful bluenette friend that he'd grown fond of as Chat Noir, and cherished as Adrien, seemed to have gone missing. A frown tugged gently on his handsome features. He'd been so busy wallowing in his own misery, the days spinning by in reckless coalescing webs, that he'd failed to notice her absence. How…how could he?

"Wh…Nino?"

His friend made a noise, then cleared his throat. "Yeah, 'sup bro?"

"Where has Marinette been? I feel like I haven't seen her in awhile."

A strangled noise escaped his best friend, and Adrien turned to look at the man. He was fiddling with the papers on his desk, and he twitched a little before sighing. "You sure you're okay, Adrien?"

"I'm _fine_, Nino," he hissed, his brows pulling together firmly, making his face crease together in violent lines. "You didn't answer me, though. Where has Marinette been?"

The DJ jerked a little, pulling his bag from his shoulder, shifting his loose papers inside, and the silence was making Adrien's heart thump faster in agonizing panic. Had something horrible befallen his favorite civilian beauty? Of course, she wasn't Ladybug, but Mari held a special spot in his heart. She was a wonderful friend.

More of that deafening silence, and the young model's blood began to chill to ice. "Nino," he said sharply, feeling the pinpricks marching over the surface of his soul. He couldn't bear it if he lost his Lady _and_ Marinette.

He couldn't…let it stand. He _needed_ the bluenette in his life. She centered Chat in a way he couldn't explain. For three years she'd been his rock, the shoulder he leaned into after a battle, and the smile he leeched off of to ensure his own existence didn't wither when life seemed hopeless….when the world was too dark…when…the love of his life made him feel…his…existence was a mere…means to an end.

"Adrien," Nino whispered. "I don't…"

"P-Please," he breathed, tears breaking from the barrier of his stinging eyes. "Just tell me Marinette is okay," he pleaded, hugging his stomach as the ache bloomed through his torso. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her too.

"A-Adrien!" His best friend closed the gap between them, putting surprisingly strong arms around the feline hero's shoulders, staving off the uncontrollable trembling. "I d-don't know what you want me to say," he said honestly.

"I want y-you to tell me I haven't lost her as w-well!" His agony was tangible as he doubled over, nausea bringing a wash of warmth through his stomach and chest, threatening to spill free from his lips. Not….his….Marinette…not….his Ladybug… .not…his….father…not….his… mother… it couldn't…all..be gone…

"Adrien," Nino said firmly, shaking his head as he held his best friend.

He couldn't be alone. He couldn't be the poor orphan boy, son of Hawk Moth with nowhere to go…no one to love him…not a pair of loving eyes without a single judgmental thought. Marinette would've looked at him with sorrow, yes, but she would never accuse him…never think less of him…for defeating Gabriel Agreste in the brutal manner that he had…

Maybe…just maybe…he'd be able to tell her…his secret too…the one that made his heart shatter into microscopic fragments. The one he couldn't tell anybody else. The great, adored, honored…Chat Noir…the man…who defeated the vicious Hawk Moth…was just now…a scared little boy…because…

He swallowed the hard lump in his throat, fresh tears cascading free. "I need to see her," he whispered desperately.

He was…so scared….lonely…because…he'd hurt his own father…to save the city…but he couldn't save the woman he loved. She'd disappeared before his very eyes. He couldn't save her…_and_ he'd had to learn…his father…whom he'd tried to please all his life…looked up to, was a mere image of a man that was unobtainable. There was _never _a moment that Adrien Agreste, international model, straight A student, top fencing competitor, multi-lingual dream…was ever…going to be good enough. Gabriel Agreste was lost the moment Emilie died.

"Adrien," Nino repeated, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice quaking. "I…d-don't know who you're talking about."

The blonde's heart came to an utter halt, and the tears stopped. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he whispered before holding his breath.

He pictured her beautiful blue orbs, the way she smelled of vanilla and sugar, and warmth….and the way she smiled and lit up a room. The way she felt when he hugged her, both as Adrien and as Chat. It filled him with the same warmth her parent's bakery emitted into the Parisian street, welcoming happiness and safety…

"I've…I…I've never heard of her," Nino replied firmly, making Adrien's world fracture into slivers of candescent pieces. No, it couldn't be true.

"N-Nino,' he wheezed, feeling his throat constrict, blocking the air to his brain. "Sh-She…she has…saved us…all…everyday…everyday…Ladybug…"

Black dots danced in his vision, wavering, and the world quivered, taunting him with splintered images of his classroom and those of a less vibrant room containing his Lady, but it slipped away, and he was left by himself….as always.

"Everyday Ladybug?" Nino frowned. "Do you mean Lila?"

Adrien growled, sobbing, just as the abyss swallowed what was left of his dignity, enveloping the world with a tangible piece of what felt like his inner sorrow.

***POV Change***

The fox heroine sat, frowning at the city around her. Something didn't sit right in the pit of her gut, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I don't like it," she muttered, standing slowly as a gust of wind whipped her tresses violently. "Not one bit," she whispered, spinning her flute deftly in her fingers. She put the instrument to her soft lips, playing a melancholy tune for her fallen Ladybug, the object glowing in reverence, pink and silver sparkles illuminating along the surface, dancing down her fingers and arms, but she didn't stop.

She played. She wouldn't stop. Not until the world knew her sorrow. She would play until her fingers bled and her lips cracked. The pink energy erupted along her arms, and the silver energy shot into the sky, rather than staying at the edge of her flute as it normally did, and the burn of it made her quiver…but she wouldn't stop…couldn't.

The chords of her sorrow tugged from her heart, driving her hands onward, and she _would_ play through the pain, despite the energy searing through her armor, tearing the fabric, blood dripping from her caramel skin….flinging through the air as she twirled, dancing on the ledge to enact her beautiful dance of loss.

_Ladybug will be remembered. _

The ground beneath her feet began trembling, but Rena closed her eyes and forced herself to ignore the urgent call. She would _not_ stop until the sorrow shattered her soul into unrecognizable splinters. Ladybug was the figure of justice, and she was gone. Nobody could replace her. Even if the Miraculous was reassigned….not a single woman…or man…could epitomize the job in the way she had.

Her fingers danced more frantically along the flute as her feet moved deftly over the ledge, her back curving to the melody, her head nearly touching the concrete in her backwards bow, before she straightened, spinning to tilt her face upwards.

When her golden orbs opened, the sky was alight with rosy and sparkling white energy, making her gasp, but even in her faltering awe, she played through her notes. She _would not_ stop.

"Rena," someone groaned, and she shifted, allowing her expert fingers to continue their work.

Pegasus and Carapace stood nearby, hands up in surrender, faces contorted in obvious concern, but she continued her dance, ignoring them, spinning away.

"You're g-going to kill everyone," Carapace pleaded. "Your sorrow will trap them in a nightmare they can't wake from!"

The armor tore from her forearms and shoulders as the energy intensified, her chest tightening. So be it. Ladybug had sacrificed _everything_ for this city, and now they live life as if she never existed.

"She wouldn't want this," Pegasus interjected, and Rena faltered, but her notes continued. Ladybug would _know_ her sorrow. She was the only one still grieving…nobody else…seemed to care…even if she had to blanket the entire world in an illusion to bring her back…

Sharp pain burst along her skull, and she gasped, exhaling, her flute slipping from her fingers. Her assaulter caught it before it hit the ground, and gathered her to his chest, pressing the instrument to her diaphragm.

"I'm s-so sorry," he whispered sadly as the pink and silver energy dominating the atmosphere disintegrated rapidly. "I'm s-so sorry," he repeated as she looked up into his bright green eyes.

"Traitor," she whispered, feeling the hatred bubbling inside.

"I kn-know," he whimpered nodding as her digits clutched the flute from his fingers, despite the fact he was the one giving it back. "Forgive me?"

"Never," she hissed. "You should have saved her…"

His face contorted with agony, and Rena smiled, tumbling into darkness with contentment.


	2. No Respite

**Author Note: Hope you enjoy, sorry if it sucks…kind of…depressed I guess. I also apologize for the crappy antiquated poetry skills, it's a poem I actually came up with two days ago for a prompt thing (it isn't the full poem), but it worked well for the story I'm going for, so it's in here, I'm going with it! Thanks…reviews at bottom. **

**Chapter Two: No Respite**

Her heart was pounding, threatening to explode from her frantically heaving chest at any given moment. The world was moving in slow motion, and even with the adrenaline coursing powerfully through her veins, her limbs felt too heavy.

Shouting. Somebody was shouting, and she sobbed, the dirt, dry twigs, and pieces of rock digging into her bare feet as she forced herself to run….run faster. _Faster_.

Her blue eyes widened as a branch came out of nowhere, and she didn't duck in time, the claws tearing her cheek as she sped by, the stinging pain dancing along her face. She felt hot wash of crimson liquid leaking down her skin, but she didn't stop.

Shouting. They were still shouting. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," they called, erupting into laughter that came from everyone and nowhere. "We like to hunt, we like to chase," the voices chimed, and she tripped, tumbling down a hill, shrieking.

The ground ate at her body on the descent, and when she hit the bottom, she slid to a halt, crying. The bluenette stared down at her legs, cut and bruised, and swallowed. She had to keep moving. _Get up_. She moved.

"We like to kill and watch the life drain from your face!" More laughter ensued, and she sobbed as the cold tendrils of fear wrapped around her heart, and icy fingers slid down her spine.

The chortling dissipated, and the bright sky began to darken, storm clouds blooming angrily across the large expanse. Someone started to whistle, and her hands trembled.

"N-no," she whispered. "P-Please."

Her limbs ached as the quaking intensified, unable to contain the horror gripping her soul as the somber whistle continued filling the air around her with a tangible thickness.

_Empty embrace with no respite,_

_ Death's cold eyes are aflame._

_ Haunting evil through the night,_

_ Stalking the shadows for its game._

The sinister tone echoed through the woods, snaking along each tree, over the ground, through the air, caressing her skin with a physicality that words should never be afforded.

The breath tore from her lips, and she dropped to her knees, sputtering for air as the words licked at her flesh, intimate, harrowing…teasing her body into a mixture of mortification, pleasure, and pure terror.

_Tainted flesh between its lips,_

_ slurping down the marrow juice._

_ Scream your death with its sweet kiss,_

_ the inner beast it lets loose._

Her bluebell orbs bulged, her fingers clutching her chest as it contracted, the shadows of the woods pooling together nearby…rapidly uniting to form a vaguely humanoid figure. It was masculine in nature, but it didn't really have features…save for a bright glowing set of red eyes, and the sharp needle teeth when it grinned…never happy…always sinister…so full of malice.

"S-Stop," she whispered hoarsely through her closing esophagus as the words continued to rub down her body, and between her thighs, exciting her and _killing_ her at the same time as the horror pierced her mind even as the pleasure demanded she enjoy her torment….her own terror.

_Its mind fractures on the feast,_

_ leaving room for nothing else._

_ It's _your_ demons that form this beast,_

_ caught once more in this broken spell._

Tears gushed down her cheeks, mingling with the still wet blood, and she _begged_ her body to move, but she was already snared…already enchanted…already a slave in this web of torture.

"Gotcha," the wicked voice whispered as it neared.

"You c-can't trick me," she finally shrieked as its hand wrapped in her dirty blue tresses. The man with no face yanked her across the blanket of dead leaves and earth, throwing her down. She flailed, scrambling to be free, but it was over her in an instant, fingers squeezing her throat.

"What a pretty face," it whispered throatily. "Too bad it belonged to _you_," it snarled, needle teeth showing in that mask of shadow.

She opened her mouth to scream, but the fingers pressed tighter, blocking the oxygen to her lungs. Her eyes bulged, and beyond its head, the sky was buzzing. It was so loud, swarming, and full of insects….buzzing.

"Help on level four," someone screamed, and she squeezed her eyes shut. When the blue orbs flew open again, the white walls mocked her. Her body was convulsing violently on the cool hard floor, and vomit leaked with an acrid stench from her bloody lips.

Hands grabbed her, pinning her, confining her. They were trying to _trap_ her, to trick her so she couldn't break free.

"NO!" She shrieked, throwing herself into the corner, covering her head. "N-nasty illusion wrought of imperfection and grace. I'm n-not crazy," she whispered, rocking. "N-not crazy!"

Someone grabbed her again, and she kicked out, spinning her body into it. She caught the nearest nurse in the chest, sending him backwards into the wall. Her surprise was so complete that she missed the doctor rushing her and the bite of the needle was already in her arm.

"N-No," she groaned, sliding sideways as the world did the same. Someone was pulling her upwards, laying her on something soft, but her eyes were closing. Hands…touched her shoulders, squeezing gently before sliding down her sides, gripping her hips.

Something pressed against her…between her thighs, but she was gone.

***POV Change***

Adrien dug frantically through his class photos, flinging them carelessly over his shoulder, adding to the monstrous pile developing across his large room.

"Uh..camembert for your thoughts?" Plagg floated closer, and Adrien snarled, kicking the now empty chest as hard as he could.

"There's no sign of Marinette," he snapped, his voice tapering into a panicked growl. "Not one photo, piece of mail, or even my lucky charm bracelet she'd made me," he sniffed, sliding down to his knees. How could she possibly be all gone? She couldn't! "She can't be gone, Plagg. How could nobody know who she? How could she vanish without a single modicum of trace?"

"Adrien," Plagg insisted, and the blonde _knew_ that tone. He gripped his face, nails digging into his scalp. "I've never heard of her…are you sure you didn't just…"

"Shut up, Plagg! I'm not making her up!" He gave his head several shakes until spots of dizziness erupted behind his lids. "I'm _not_ crazy!"

"I'm not saying you are kid," the kwami said softly. "I'm saying you're _stressed_. You lost your father and Ladybug, and…" he let the words trail off, and Adrien felt something slither inside.

It coiled around his stomach tightly until it was difficult to breathe, and a wave of nausea was barely staved off. "I _am_ _not_ crazy," he bit out slowly again. "Stressed…crazy, or otherwise," he whispered, strained as his arms began to tremble.

When he finally looked, he realized his fists were clenched, his nails digging so deeply into his palms that thick droplets of scarlet fluid were squeezing between his digits to gather in small pools on his floor.

"Okay, kitten," Plagg said slowly, his voice even. "How about I help you try and find her then? If you say she exists, I'll believe you."

"You don't have to treat me like a child, Plagg. It's one thing to not believe me and stick by it," he forced out. "And another thing completely to pretend to help me when you really don't believe me. I don't want your false friendship."

The cat faltered in mid-air, vibrant eyes widening. "K-kid, I _don't_ believe she's real, but I believe that you think she's real, so I'm going to give it my all, I swear!" He frowned, almost angry. "I _want _to help you, Adrien," he hissed. "I care about you!"

The model deflated a little. "S-sorry, I'm just a little…"

"Stressed," the cat said firmly.

Adrien snorted a little. "Y-yeah, I guess."

"Understandable. Don't worry about it. I get it. I'm missing someone, too," he breathed, eyes glazing over.

The eighteen year old stiffened, eyes widening. He hadn't stopped to think of Plagg's loss…not once. "O-Oh, right…I'm s-so sorry! Where is the Ladybug kwami?"

Plagg's eyes came back into focus. "I…" he licked his lips. "W-we don't know," he admitted, catlike orbs far too wide. "They both disappeared," he whispered.

"D-Do you think they're…"

Plagg gave an adamant shake of his head. "I c-can't say anything for sure…I'm sorry. It's…" his eyes lost focus again, and Adrien snapped his fingers near the obsidian being's ear, making him hiss. "Tell me where this Marinette girl is supposed to live. We can start there."

Adrien opened his mouth to argue, but judging by the look on his kwami's face, it wouldn't do him much good. "It's a bakery, run by her parents. We can probably get fresh bread to go with your camembert," he offered.

"_Now_, we're talking."

**AUTHOR NOTES REVIEWS:**

**trying414, I'm glad the first chapter caught your interest, hopefully it stays interesting.**

**Faefolk11, *dumps the bucket of her kid's 10,000,000 crayons out on the floor…looking for one that says 'intrigued' on it* hm….I dunno if I can color you intrigued Mademoiselle, how about a lovely lavender? **

**matsheiist, yes…I facepalm every…single…time I write it.**

**kazza2182, I'm very glad that you're excited, I hope that I don't disappoint you. **


	3. Who Are You?

**Chapter Three: Who Are You?**

Alya rubbed her palms together anxiously, staring at the back of her boyfriend's head. He'd been huddling with Adrien most of the lesson, whispering in hurried tones, and the normally docile demeanor he sported kept contorting into tense lines.

The rooftop incident hadn't done her any favors in garnering information from her normally mellow partner in the last few days, so both men had been exceptionally secretive. Not that Adrien was a big sharer of his personal life to begin with, but Nino was her boyfriend, and they didn't normally keep things from each other.

Now, there seemed to be a mounting chasm between the duo, and it was filling with a void of tension she couldn't slice through. Part of it was her own melancholy, and part of it was his disappointment in her actions, but the rest? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Telling Chat Noir she would never forgive him for Ladybug's passing hadn't given her reprieve in his eyes either. He'd done all but rip her a new one for that stunt, shouting that the man was suffering enough without shouldering the guilt she'd just unloaded on him to add to it. He said the feline hero probably felt like all of Paris blamed him, and after all, he was the one who took down Hawk Moth in the end, single-handedly, and saved everyone…even if Ladybug had been lost in the process. One life for the price of millions.

It didn't seem like a fair exchange, but nor did blaming Chat for doing what he needed to in order to end the strife of an entire nation. He'd made an impossible decision. Save her, or end the war? If you'd asked Alya a few months ago what his choice would have been, she wouldn't have hesitated to say the leather clad man would save his Lady every single time, but of course, she'd have been wrong. Heartbreakingly wrong.

The caramel skinned beauty scoffed, averting her golden orbs out the nearby window. He claimed to love the spotted heroine, and in the end, he had let her die, alone, and in agony. Mayura had tortured her to the bitter end, the broken Miraculous finally breaking her body and mind, coalescing into a symphony of madness.

The mangled form of the spotted heroine at the bottom of the abandoned elevator shaft would haunt her nightmares forever. That look of horror still frozen on her face, the twisted angles of her limbs, the torn fabric of her armor, bones jutting through her flesh…burns, bruises, cuts…bite wounds. She'd been missing three fingers and chunks of her flesh had been _carved_ out methodically. The process had gone on for _days_. By the time anybody realized the heroine was even missing, she was on the verge of death when Chat reached her.

Mayura and Hawk Moth engaged the man in battle, endeavoring to steal his Miraculous while she sputtered on her waning breaths. Alya was unclear what happened next, because the feline couldn't go on without breaking down, but it was something like…he had Hawk Moth pinned, but Mayura grabbed Ladybug.

There was some sort of barter offered. An exchange, but Chat had refused. He wasn't giving Hawk Moth back for Ladybug…and he'd killed him…and Mayura had returned the favor in her unrelenting grief. He'd betrayed her…he'd _let_ her die!

Tears stung her eyes, and she wiped angrily at her face, sniffling loudly. Chat Noir was a traitor, and he didn't deserve to be called a hero. He'd promised to always protect her. He'd failed. He'd lied. He was going to pay.

***POV Change***

Adrien flopped backwards on his bed, staring at the ceiling in misery. Dead ends. They'd hit nothing but wall after wall searching for Marinette. Her parent's bakery was right where it was supposed to be, complete with Tom and Sabine, but no Marinette. He'd even transformed and climbed discreetly to the familiar skylight, peering in. Nothing but storage space greeted his vision. Boxes and dust.

"Maybe I am crazy," he whispered, voice breaking on his sorrow. He'd already lost the woman he loved, perhaps his mind was fracturing, creating another girl he was desperate to connect with. After all, the more he thought about her, the more he realized they were so similar in certain ways. Strong, brave, kind, full of passion and talent.

"Don't be discouraged, kitten," Plagg murmured, floating over lazily.

Adrien rolled away, curling up into as tight a ball as possible. The first wave of tears were violent as they tore from his eyes, accompanied by chest wracking sobs, quaking his entire form. "I c-couldn't save her," he sobbed. "I should have tri-ied to find h-her sooner."

"How could you have known?"

"I j-just should have!" He kept replaying the days leading up to her death in his head, willing his reality to shift. Willing himself to make a different choice, to notice something he hadn't before. What hadn't he noticed that he could have? It was the weekend, so he hung out with Nino and Alya a bit. There hadn't been any Akumas for a few days, but even that wasn't completely uncommon. There were instances where Hawk Moth would take weeks off from evilizing people.

What had Ladybug noticed that _he_ hadn't, and why hadn't she called him!? Why…why didn't she try to leave a message…he…always checked in the afternoons and evenings. He'd not received anything from her the first night she didn't show up for patrol. He had found it odd, but he thought maybe something had come up in civilian life. No message or explanation. He _should have_ known.

The second night came and went, and still, his Lady did not show. No message or ghost of a whisper from her, and his heart began to tighten. The panic was rising. By the third day, with no message in the afternoon, he didn't wait for the evening, he _knew_. He scoured the city. He _knew_ she was in trouble, but he had no clue or knowledge of where she could possibly be.

"How?" Plagg's voice was stern as he repeated the question, and Adrien stiffened behind his barrier of constant agony.

"She didn't sh-show up!"

"She had a life, kid. You didn't know if she was busy or if her parents had grounded her," he tried.

"That's right, I knew _nothing_ about her life because of our stupid secret," he spat angrily.

"At her insistence."

The blonde surged up to a sitting position, his speed quicker than the blink of an eye. His handsome face was contorted with his grief and anger. "I should have pushed harder. I should have made her listen! I should have just _told_ her!"

Plagg stared into his unwavering orbs of fury, and sighed. "That's _a lot_ of 'should haves' kitten, are you sure they would have saved Ladybug?"

The words were innocent enough, but Adrien recoiled, snarling. "Anything was better than the choice I made!"

He threw himself backwards again, curling up once more, using his anguish and rage as a blanket, covering his soul to block out the world. She'd been so close to death.

_"Ch…Chat," she rasped, one of her bluebell orbs completely ruined, the other barely focused as he cradled her on his lap. Her body was broken in ways that he couldn't fathom…in ways his Lady didn't deserve…in ways he wouldn't have wished even upon Hawk Moth before that day._

_ "H-Hush m'lady, I'll get you t-to a hospital. We'll g-get you fixed," he breathed, shifting to pick her up, but her excruciating whimpers halted any movements, and his tears decorated her blood and dirt stained face._

_ Her lips, swollen and deformed, trembled under the weight of her words. "T-Tikki can't heal me anymore. She's held on…t-too long…all….all….ready," she gurgled, her single eye going out of focus. _

_ Chat gasped, shaking his head. "D-Don't! N-no!" He pressed his forehead to hers, whimpering. "D-Don't leave me!" He was afraid to touch her, she was so frail now…so vulnerable. Her strong body was marred, twisted, and mangled in ways he just..he…_

_ The blonde put a hand to her diaphragm and pushed as hard as he dared, once..twice…_

_ "M-m-m-m'lady," he croaked, sobbing. "Come b-back, p-please," he whispered desperately._

_ Another rasping breath, but it was so shallow as she peered at his face, head lulling. "You…can't….save…me, Chat."_

_ "I'm s-sorry, this is all my fault! D-don't leave me!"_

_ She smiled. Through all her pain…through it all…she smiled, blinking that one beautiful orb at him. "S-silly kitty…," she whispered. "Y-you were always s-such a credit…hog…" she teased._

_ He might have laughed…if his heart wasn't dying. He might have enjoyed her joke if his soul wasn't being sucked out through his chest._

_ "It looks like our bait caught a cat," Mayura laughed…_

Adrien shook his head violently, the images of her haunting his mind. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was her. He could only see the look on his love's face when Mayura tipped her over the edge of the shaft. He could only see the look on her face when she'd….told him, with her one wavering eye, to let her go, because she wasn't going to live anyway.

There wasn't much choice in the matter. He heard it in the dwindling of her heart rate. He felt it in the touch of her skin, the heat seeping out of her body. He saw it…in her face. She…was done. Ladybug was not just dead because of the wounds inflicted upon her…she was dead, because she'd accepted her fate, and nobody was changing her mind.

He squeezed his eyes against the images, but they burst even brighter, chasing him into his nightmares until he screamed himself into an abyss of emptiness and regret.

***POV Change***

Her head lulled to the side on the bed, her blue tresses sliding over her orbs, partially obscuring her vision. She let her mind wander because anywhere was better than here. She didn't want to feel the terror coupled with the immense pleasure.

"Tsk tsk, my little flower," the evil entity said, jerking her head center again with shadowy fingers that were impossibly strong. "What did I say about leaving," he moaned, running his tongue from her jaw up to her temple, making her flinch.

"N-Not to," she whispered, the fear sliding back into place.

"All you have to do is tell me what I want to know, and all of it ends," he cooed vindictively. "You could have stopped this before it started," he murmured, hands sliding down her sides to grip her hips before caressing back up to push the white shirt with them, exposing her stomach slowly.

She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I d-don't know!"

"Oh, tut tut," he said, sounding disappointed as his mouth touched her ear, nibbling like an intimate lover. "Such a delicious lie. Part of me loves the fact you prolong this so much," he hissed, dragging a claw down her abdomen, slicing open her bare flesh so her spine curved with the fiery pain. The bluenette screamed her agony and felt the hot wash of blood pouring freely from the vicious wound. "The other part of me is tired of playing," he snarled, slashing another line down her body, making her mind go blank with nothing but excruciation to keep it company, even as his mouth layered kisses on her neck. "Now, will you tell me…what is your _real_ name, Ladybug?"

Her mind raced around the pain, and still, the tiny voice inside her head…not her own, but a little voice, soft, and high pitched, told her to be strong, she could hold on. The one that peeked through all the splintered thoughts and images…through the madness. _Hold on._

The answer was easy, because it would stay the same….because it was true. "I don't know!" she shrieked.


	4. Illusion Versus Delusion

**Chapter Four: Illusion Versus Delusion**

"Lies," she shrieked, tossing her head violently to and fro, collapsing onto the cool floor as the thick sweat dominated her pale body. The paper gown split open around her body, revealing her naked flesh, but the bluenette could hardly notice beyond the fracturing behind her eyes.

"Illusion," she continued, reaching her slender fingers upwards towards the ceiling as the splinters appeared along the world. "When will….will y-you," she frowned, head lulling. She gave it a sharp shake. 'C-can't come. You c-can't come. I promised you couldn't! So, forever stuck in the illusion wrought of grace and imperfection….l-lying to the world," she whispered, curling up in a ball.

"_Ladybug_," the voice whispered, making parts low in her body twist with want, and she squeezed her eyes shut against it. She hated it. She hated _herself_ for it. He'd incite the most delicious sensations in her lithe body, heat…pleasure, bringing her to an edge she'd never known before him, wave after wave of warmth engulfing her form, only to have it coupled with the agony and terror he wanted to instill in her. Torture, torment…and...

Always, when she'd wake up…the next day…days later...minutes…whatever the case might have been, her body would be whole again. There would be no scars or injuries, just plain ole 'Ladybug' trembling in her own terror, alone, unsure…clueless.

"What does my supple piece of meat have for me today?" The shadows pooled from the ceiling, and her shrieks of terror filled the room before she could help herself.

She couldn't get her heart to function around the immediate mortification, and he…_it_ appeared, crimson eyes glowing, full of malicious intent as it stalked close enough to make her shake uncontrollably.

"Do you want to keep playing, Ladybug? My desire could never grow tired of your delicious folds," he moaned. "By all means, delay the inevitable."

She flinched, pushing her bare feet against the cool floor until her head bumped the nearest wall, quaking. "I d-don't know," she whispered hoarsely in response to a question he hadn't even asked yet.

The shadow's lips curled, needle teeth baring, amused. "Oh, but even if that were true, I get to keep ruining your body and mind for everyone else," he whispered darkly. "A treat best savored with each languid moment of your terror," he moaned loudly, pawing at the section where his cock might have been. "If I had the ability to fully _fuck_ you, I would, trust me on that," he whispered throatily. "Although, if you give in, there may be time for me to taste you, yet."

She turned her face away, bile rising violently in her throat, the warmth dominating her chest and stomach as the bluenette tried to breathe through the sick feeling. It wasn't helping by much.

"What is your _real_ name?" His fingers ensnared her ankles, yanking her violently away from the wall she'd pressed against, sprawling her across the floor until he was hovering over her. "Or do I get to violate your soft body in all the ways I can imagine _again?_"

His claws dug into her ribs, and she felt the first sting of blood welling up as his invisible hardness thrust against her core, forcing her back to curve as she ached with _want_. She'd been able to resist the urges at first, but the more he taunted her body, the more it craved his touch, even if just a little. She'd never…had release….in the last…ten years they'd…..two weeks…three days?

The woman squeezed her eyes shut. Time worked differently in the lie. She wasn't sure how long he'd been torturing her for, but she knew that she hadn't enjoyed a release under his ministrations. Her orbs opened gradually. "C-Can we keep him from touching me again?"

The shadowed face faltered in her vision, and if it had eyebrows, she imagined it would be quirking them now. "Hm?"

The voice inside her didn't respond. It never responded when she wanted it to, instead, only offering advice when she was without absolute hope, willing her to continue through her crisis and endure.

She wasn't sure how much more she could take as tears popped free from her bluebell orbs. "I'm tired," she whispered, feeling the tendrils of exhaustion tugging along her brain with a strength she hadn't noticed before.

The fractures along the ceiling quivered, vibrating with vicious precision as she let the feeling envelop her for several lingering moments. Another splinter occurred, and the ground _lurched,_ throwing him off of her, tossing her body along the tile until she curled into a ball.

A smile formed on her lips as her eyes slid closed. "Kill me, please," she begged the world. As the ground trembled violently, a flash of emerald cat eyes appeared behind her lids, making her deadened heart spike, soul sparking…just for a moment, with a fire she hadn't felt…in an eternity…

***POV Change***

Adrien tossed the ruffled papers into the bin, sighing. This whole endeavor had been a colossal mistake. Tom and Sabine didn't have a daughter. Marinette Dupain-Cheng didn't exist. His grief had resulted in creating the memory of a wonderful girl who…just…was too good to be true.

"Adrien," Nathalie's voice called, quaking a little under her own duress. He'd known she'd secretly harbored feelings for his father, but he wasn't sure how well she was coping, and honestly? Part of him couldn't bring his heart to care in his own sorrow.

"What," he snapped. He wasn't in the mood for advice or a heart to heart. Both the women he cared about, real and imaged, were lost to him.

"Uh…how's school?"

His top lip curled back in a snarl before he realized what he was doing, stalking violently towards the woman. "School? Oh, _wonderful_," he declared, eyes glinting dangerously as they narrowed. The beast inside riled, dominating his thoughts before rational thought slipped away completely. "You know, because I'm _not_ the son of Hawk Moth, or the son of the man who destroyed _Ladybug_, and I'm also not the boy who had a challenge making friends to begin with," he spat. "So, school is fantastic," he hissed vehemently. "How are _you_, Nathalie?"

He saw the conviction in her eyes waver, and fracture, and before he had a chance to register his regret, she withdrew, twitching. "J-Just checking," she breathed, hugging herself.

He reached a palm towards the woman, the only one who'd been like a mother since his own was lost, but she was swiftly moving, darting down the hall, and with his sensitive ears, he heard her grief.

"Fuck," he growled under his breath. How many more lives could he ruin? "I should give up while I'm behind," he snapped to the empty ruin, but Plagg emerged to greet him.

"What good would that do?"

"It would keep me from ruining anymore lives. I killed Ladybug, I murdered Hawk Moth, I've destroyed…Rena's belief in justice, and now, I've fractured Nathalie's heart. She's the only woman who treated me like family after mom died….aside from…" He let the thought trail off because it was painful to think about a woman who didn't exist.

"Marinette?" Plagg's voice was dry, almost conversational.

"Stop saying her name," he demanded, angry. Each time the word was uttered made his heart falter several fractions, and his blood got unreasonably warm. She was fictional. A figment of his imagination. He needed to obliterate her existence from his mind, just like everyone else's.

"We've only been looking for three days, kitten. If she meant so much, why would you stop after such a short period of time?"

"I'm just deluding myself, Plagg," he rebuffed, sniffling. "I don't deserve to have a special girl in my life." He tossed another piece of trash into the bin without thought. He'd been collecting all the things he'd spewed across the floor in search of evidence for Marinette, and realized, with increasing sadness, most of the junk was memorabilia he didn't really need to cling to.

"Snapshots from the derby hat competition," he muttered dejectedly, tossing the photos aside. Chloe had won, of course. In his mind, Marinette won, and Chloe endeavored to steal the design, but the pictures proved his childhood friend was triumphant. "Tickets to the ice rink," he sighed. A picture was paper clipped to the two passes he had, and it was him, Kagami, Luka, and Lila. Had it been Lila?

He threw the picture angrily into the trash, pulling his knees up to his face, releasing the sob that was building up in his chest. His body was shaking, violently. No…

"Whoa!" Plagg gasped, faltering in the air as Adrien brought his head up, sliding along the ground unsteadily. He was thrown to his side, gasping, as it continued to tremble, and a voice whispered along his mind, tugging at invisible tendrils he wasn't aware existed.

_Kill_ _me, please._

Her face flashed behind his lids, leaving him breathless, and his kwami snarled angrily beyond his vision, deteriorating into a fit of hisses and low throated mewls of agitation. "Marinette!" His voice slashed outwards as her face faded, but…she jerked, in his mind, eyes wide, staring…straight at him before the image was gone. "MARINETTE!"

The quaking died just as rapidly as it had began, leaving him dazed, but the ancient being was a whirlwind of energy, fur bristling as he whizzed violently about the room for several minutes.

"A-Adrien!" Plagg barked, floating closer, swirling in a circle, eyeing the space as if a dangerous intruder were imminent. "You screamed her name just now. Did you…were you seeing a face?"

He swallowed, his emerald orbs far too wide for his pale face as he sat up slowly, touching his temples with his fingertips. The image was dissipating, threatening to pull all memory of her with it, and he desperately grasped at what he could.

"Y-yes," he croaked out, swiping at the vast and receding thoughts. What color was her hair now? "I'm forgetting," he shrieked, tossing his head back and forth. 'D-don't let me forget too!"

"Shit!" Plagg sounded desperate, and scared. "S-Say the words, kid!"

What? What…. "Claws out!" The jade light flashed brilliantly behind his eyes, and her face came back into sharp relief, her bluebell orbs gorgeous and kind. The sheer affection and warmth in their depths made his heart stutter in his chest. "G-God it's her," he sobbed, reaching out a clawed glove as if he could caress the image in his mind. "Why does…she haunt me? Why is this nonexistent girl plaguing my mind?"

His ring pulsed angrily, heat spreading through the leather, nigh scathing his flesh beneath. _Because I don't think you're crazy after all. You have to find her, _now_. You have to save her._

"She's i-in trouble?" _Kill me, please_. Those were the words she'd whispered into his mind, but why to him? Why had the words reached him? Did she…need him to kill her in order to save her?

_Yes, immediate danger. _

"She wants to die, I c-can't kill another woman I care about," he whimpered desperately. "P-please don't make me, Plagg."

_Be strong kitten. Hopefully, we won't have to, just trust me!_

Adrien gathered what little strength he held left in his body and prowled silently towards the window, pushing it open gingerly. The fresh hair wafted in, filling his nose with the scent of the city, still alive this late in the evening, and he sighed, almost contently. The soft gust of wind ruffled his golden locks as he climbed up onto the sill, perching, precariously at first, before he leapt, spinning his weapon free to vault over the rooftops.

He _would_ save this girl. He couldn't fail again.

***POV Change***

Rena twirled her flute, over and over, between anxious fingers, golden orbs staring with muted interest over the city from atop the Eiffel tower. She hadn't seen him since he'd mutinied with the others to stop her blanket illusion over all of Paris.

"Traitors," she screeched, scowling. The lot of them. Not just her fellow Miraculous wielders, but _all_ of Paris. Hell, all of France and the entire world. They got to go on living, and they seemed none the more weighted for the great loss they had suffered.

The cat was going to get his dose of justice _first_. Then, she had decided, the rest of the hero team would find theirs. After that, she could move on to blanketing the city in an illusion wrought of her grief, and let them spew and writhe in madness until they decayed.

"I don't think it's wise for you to be out here alone," Carapace murmured gently.

She scoffed, not even turning to afford him a glance. "Says the man with the least intelligible thought in his body. Why don't you stick to your strengths, instead of _thinking_," she shot back, standing from her crouched position. "Keep your _chill_ and go find company that wants you." She stood on a beam, sheathing her flute and spread her arms wide.

"Babe," he breathed. The single word was full of depth, affection, and confusion, but she merely tossed a smirk over her shoulder.

"Sorry, terms of endearment are reserved for _loyal_ people. You lost that privilege when you stopped me _and_ enrolled the _cat_ to help." She said the word like it was filth rolling off her tongue, quick to spit it out and be rid of the bitter taste it left on her tongue.

"Rena," he said more firmly, taking a step forward, but she lifted an index finger, shaking it at him.

"Uh-uh," she chided, pouting her lips at him. "Can't catch the fox, when you're too slow to play," she mocked, leaping. She was one of the quickest members of the team, save for maybe…the…_feline_. Her eyes narrowed as she diverted between alleys, disappearing far quicker than she knew Carapace could chase. He wanted to slow her down. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to protect Chat Noir? Fine, then she'd take them all on if she had to. "I'll bring you justice, Ladybug," she whispered into the night.

**AUTHOR NOTE REVIEWS:**

**Trying414, sorry…we have a LONG way to go for a lot of answers…but hopefully the ride…is intriguing.**


	5. Fractured World

**Chapter Five: Fractured World**

Dawn was breaking over the Parisian sky, casting brilliant golden and rose hues along the seamless expanse. Chat perched atop a roof, staring at the mingling colors, and he sighed, letting his head drop, hanging low.

He had scoured the city, as far as he was able, trying to figure out where she might be. It was all to no avail, and he felt his hope dwindling as quickly as the twilight, except, instead of ushering in light and warmth, it gave way to darkness and despair.

_We _will_ find her, kitten. _

"Yeah," he muttered dejectedly, lifting his emerald cat eyes upwards again. He sniffed, licking his lips as his tail swished with impatience and uncertainty. If she were ready to die, how much time did he have, truly, to find her? That was, of course, if she did, in fact, exist. Plagg's resurgence of surety gave him bolster, and he leaned into it, but a part of him still chipped away, gradually.

His ears twitched, swiveling, and he threw himself sideways skillfully along the narrow ledge, flipping over to his feet, boots scuffing against the hard material as his assailant nearly fell over the edge herself.

"Mangy cat," she sneered, twirling her flute upwards, swinging it high above her head before she rushed again.

Chat's brows pulled together, trying to decipher the nature of her animosity, but pivoted at the last possible second, dodging her next haphazard attack. Was she that upset he'd helped Carapace stop her massive illusion?

"Rena?"

"You are a traitor to all hero kind, and I will seek justice on _her_ behalf," she crowed, giving chase.

The implication made him falter, and she caught him across the jaw, the cracking sound resounding as he toppled. However, Chat was far more experienced than the young fox, and he used his downward momentum to his advantage, throwing his weight into it. His right hand touched the ground, and he swung his legs up and around almost lazily, with languid grace. He caught her on the back of the head with the curve of his foot, dragging her down rather than using it as an actual strike.

He pressed harder as he rotated his torso upwards, and she was flat on her face, with him above her, boot sliding down between her shoulder blades to secure her more firmly to the hard surface. Her flute clattered a few feet away from the fall, and she snarled her enragement.

He spun his baton free as she endeavored to push up, trying to disrupt his balance, but he was prepared, and he slipped the pole by her wrist, sweeping it from under her shoulder. She collapsed, and he shoved down with his boot once more, pinning her.

"Looks like the cat caught a Foxy Lady," he teased lightly, despite the tightness around his eyes.

"Oh, take your jokes and shove them!"

"Tsk tsk," he chided, watching her squirm to get back up using her arms. He sighed, shaking his head as he repeated the process with his baton, robbing her of the use of her hands to prop herself up. "That's not very nice, Rena, after all we've been through."

"Chat," Carapace gulped, panting as he landed nearby. "D-Did she hurt you?"

"Nah," he chuckled. "I was teaching her how to better her defensive skills, but I'm afraid the quick witted fox has found something she's not so swift at," he said darkly, retracting his weapon, sheathing it in one fluid motion. "Keep her away from me until she has her temper under control," he warned more seriously, skipping backwards a few feet to allow her up.

"Traitors, both of you," she spat, her fury tangible on the air as it thickened. She found her feet, scowling. "I'll bring justice to you two, soon," she promised as she approached her fallen weapon.

"Rena, I'm…I'm going to need your Miraculous," Carapace whispered, wincing as if the words physically hurt him to say as they fell free from his lips.

The beauty recoiled, as if the statement had literally delivered a blow, and she made a sharp noise in her throat, growling. "You can have it when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers!"

Chat's brows shot up, surprised. Rena had always been aloof, mischievous, and intelligent, but now all he could discern was rage, sorrow, and an edge of…madness. She was balancing on the precipice, and he sympathized. He too, felt the slip of reality threatening his every action. Would he fall eventually? Would Rena?

Carapace sucked in a loud breath. "Don't make me do this, please."

"You can't do a _damn_ thing, you useless man!"

He raised his shield into the air. "Shell—ah!"

Chat knocked the turtle hero off his feet with a well placed kick, splitting his suddenly free baton in two as the flute sailed over Carapace's head. He threw one half of his weapon, using the second to vault at the same time, but the fox was slyer than he anticipated, sliding out of range in time. He landed, rolling to retrieve his lost piece, spinning to face Rena, who was already recovering her flute.

Her deft fingers played along the instrument, and the light glowed just for a moment before she flung it at him. "Mirage!"

He didn't care what she summoned. He wasn't susceptible to her power since he knew they were illusions, but as it formed between them, his eyes widened, making him halt.

"Chaton," Ladybug whispered, smiling, but it was grotesque with her missing orb and swollen mouth. His heart wrenched in his chest, and his legs quaked, threatening to tilt his weight to the ground.

"N-no," he whispered hoarsely, the sting of tears dominating his cat green eyes. "Anything but that," he pleaded, releasing a strangled cry. His already fragile heart splintered into microscopic pieces, shattering, and the jagged shards pierced the inside of his chest until it was difficult to draw in breath.

"It hurts so much," his spotted Lady whimpered, reaching hands towards him, some of her digits missing, and his entire world slanted.

"I'm s-so sorry," he mewled, dropping to his knees as the warmth of nausea plagued his diaphragm. "Forgive me?"

Her lips parted, but before any words left her warped mouth, Carapace stepped in his path, blocking the image of his beautifully broken love. "No!" He lurched forward, but it was too late, the illusion was gone, and his body was trembling with his emotional agony, crystalline sorrow decorating his face as he fought against the turtle's strength.

"I'm sorry, Chat," he breathed, his words a little strained as the feline struggled to get to an entity that was no longer there. "She had no right…"

The obsidian hero collapsed his weight into the man, sobbing uncontrollably, squeezing his eyes shut. "It hurts," he squeezed out through an impossibly tight throat, feeling the physical pain it caused just to speak around his melancholy. "She's really gone."

Carapace nodded, the motion a short jerk of his head, squeezing the larger Miraculous wielder in a tight embrace. "It isn't your fault," he murmured. "It's the path we choose to protect those who can't do it themselves from the evil forces." He sighed, slowly relinquishing his grasp on the gradually stilling man. "She had no right, and I'm really afraid for her…" His warm eyes slid towards where, presumably, Rena had made her escape.

"You sh-should be," Chat growled, pulling himself together, tearing at his face with the backs of his leather clad hands to be rid of the remaining salty droplets. "Because the claws are officially _out_." The smirk that graced his face was nothing like the normal Chat Noir grin, instead, only darkness and murderous intent glinted in the bright emerald depths, his suffering turning to malice under Rena's perfectly calculated torture.

"Ch-Chat," he gasped, putting a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Please, she's grieving, too. Don't make things worse. I'm with you here, but retaliating can only lead to more heartache," he pleaded.

His tail flicked, ears flattening against his golden mane. "So, she gets to torture me with the deceased, mangled, love of my life, and I should sit back and cool my heels?" He laughed, and the sound was harsh and abrupt. "She plays my guilt like the perfect notes of her flute, and you want me to let it go," he snorted, shaking his head. "Sorry, no can do." He shrugged off the hand, prowling towards the ledge.

"Chat."

The word was forceful, warning, and it made the feline's tail 'bristle' as he turned, eyes narrowed. "Please, don't get in my way," he whispered darkly. "I've already murdered the woman I love. So, if I'm capable of _that_, who knows what I might do to find my vengeance against Rena," he hissed, baring elongated fangs just as he stepped off the roof with practiced ease.

***POV Change***

His face had been beautiful. She didn't know how she had conjured such an angelic face, but just as her soul felt alight again, thinking of her precious cat's eyes, he had appeared in her mind. Of course, that had been weeks ago…or was it days? She gave her head several shakes, matted aqua tresses coated with dirt and caked blood.

The bluenette's left eye twitched as she peered around the empty cell, fingers convulsing before clenching into fists. She'd tried to procure that pretty face again, but she couldn't…nor had the inner voice spoken to her in the time since.

"I know y-you can't come pretty kitty," she murmured to herself, falling against the hard bed, staring at the cracks webbing out along the ceiling. It was like staring at a barrier made of glass, and when she tilted her head enough, the cracks almost looked tangible, but she knew if she tried to touch them, they'd be nonexistent under her fingertips.

"In my mind. Cracks in my mind," she giggled, rolling onto her side. "Mind is cracking," she snorted louder, laughing. "Oh, Chaton," she breathed, blinking her eyes several times to clear the delirious tears. Perhaps, as with most things, the existence of her trusted partner was in her mind?

She frowned, eyes sliding closed. Why couldn't he come for her? There was a reason, she knew, because she had been a part of it…but…but…now, she wasn't even sure the thoughts and plans lived anywhere beyond the twisted fragments of her quickly diminishing mind.

"Ladybug," the sinister voice purred, and she stilled. If she were still long enough, she might become invisible. "Oh, my delicate meal, don't be that way. We could have fun if you just relented," he growled, and the familiar tone made her start, sitting up quickly.

His tone was angry, and she saw glimpses of her beautiful Chaton in her mind…snatching something. "Ooo, naughty naughty kitty," she tittered. "He took the jewel!" The crimson orbs of her tormenter widened, and she cackled, holding her stomach. "Fractured, fractured little jewels, without them both you will lose!"

The entity surged forward, towering over her, and the giddiness was replaced with ice cold terror in an instant, making the sound die in her throat. "You remember?"

"R-Remember?" Her eyes glazed over, knowing nothing but panic and terror. "R-Remember what?"

"Don't you play me for a fool, you just told me! What is your _real_ name, Ladybug?"

"What i-importance is a name?" Hadn't the pretty boy said…something. His mouth had moved, and she'd heard the faint echo of a name, one that sounded so familiar…it startled her, and she'd seen him. Now, she couldn't remember what it was.

"Damn you!" His claws delved into the soft flesh of her belly, and she coughed up blood, eyes widening as the shriek of excruciation tore up her throat. He twisted his hand inside of her abdomen, wrenching on her innards, and she screamed again, mind going blank as the shock took over. "I will torture you for _all_ eternity until I get my answer!"

How? Her eyes fluttered closed as her breathing quickened, and she felt the waves of abyss threatening to take over. How could he torture her for eternity? Especially since…he was killing her.

_Hold on_. The soft female voice squeaked in urgent undertones, but overall, the voice was affectionate, warm. _Just a little longer, and we might be able to reverse the damage._

Damage? Her brows pulled together as she felt her life ebbing away. The damage to her body? He did that every day, reversed it, to torture her over and over again. Damage? Her eyes flew wide, staring at the fractures spreading out over the ceiling. The illusion.

"Y-You're not really here," she gurgled, staring up into his angry scarlet eyes, and she'd caught him off guard.

However, he recomposed himself, dark smirk revealing his needle teeth. "If I were, I'd have broken your body and mind properly," he whispered. "It doesn't make the pain any less real, does it?" He twisted his fingers to emphasize his point, and she gasped, sobbing.

He…he was stuck on the outside. Outside the world…he had created. How had that happened? Splinters in an invisible barrier appeared along her brain, and fresh waves of memory came back.

_Hold on! _

His wish…had been interrupted. "N-Naughty kitty," she laughed loudly, even as he tore her apart with his bare hands.

**AUTHOR NOTES REVIEWS:**

**Trying414, I'm just glad I haven't managed to bore you yet ^_^ Hopefully this chapter is good for you.**

**MissyMagenta, *blushes* well, thank you so much! Those are beautiful words to read, and I hope this chapter was disappointing for you! I'm trying to become a full-blown live at home author, but selling a book is harder than you'd think!**


	6. Beautiful

**Chapter Six: Beautiful**

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, spinning gradually amidst the dying ocean of leaves. His mind frayed around the delicate edges, and no matter how often he endeavored to pull it back from the precipice threatening his waning sanity, he always seemed closer to toppling rather than finding salvation.

"Why are we here, kitten?" Plagg's firm voice drew his thoughts back down to the woods they were surrounded in.

The model's brows furrowed as he took a few more steps towards the epicenter of the decaying nature. "It feels off," he grunted, throwing his hands forward with splayed fingers. "It makes the back of my mind itch, and my tail bristle," he commented. "Don't you feel it?"

The kwami swayed in the air, his vibrant emerald eyes sliding closed as he rotated listlessly through the air, an odd mewling noise the bordered on a growl vibrating deep in his chest. "Y-Yeah, you're right," he snarled. "It's thick with energy."

Adrien took another foothold further, but his body faltered, screaming for him to turn back. His mind fogged over, making it laden with sorrow and confusion, his throat clutching without permission.

"P-Plagg," he rasped desperately, his emerald eyes going wide as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, struggling to usher oxygen into his lungs. The burning sensation leaked heavily through his lungs, cascading into his chest until it erupted into his shoulders.

"Kid!" His kwami touched his burning cheek with soft paws, but the agony pulsated down his arms, and he fell sideways into the brittle foliage, convulsing as the excruciation of his sins splashed angrily through his skull, yanking his violently under into his vivid nightmares.

***Shifting***

He scraped his claws angrily over the barren ground, manifesting deep grooves in the dirt as he screeched his fury. _Everything_ had been torn from him, and his soul splintered with every single breath he took. His heart shattered with every beat it managed to pulse under the guise of his living. Life _taunted_ his very existence, leaving him hollow inside.

_I always knew you would let me down_.

Her melancholy voice drew his wary gaze, and Chat panted wildly with the weight of his guilt. Just her outline glimmered among the wreckage he had created in his grief, but it was enough to draw him to his feet, urging him forward.

"I tried," he groaned, eager to earn her forgiveness. "You have to believe me," he pleaded, salty tears touching his lips, coating them.

_I can't forgive a traitor._

"M-M'lady you told me t-to let you go," he whispered frantically, clutching at his increasingly aching chest.

_You still should have chosen me._

The feline slipped to his knees in front of her, peering up into her singular functional bluebell orb. He didn't recognize the hatred staring back at him. Ladybug had _never _loved him, not the way he loved her, anyway, but this look of pure contempt was unfamiliar on her beautiful face, even in its misshapen appearance.

Seven digits encircled his throat, and he didn't fight her as the unnaturally strong grasp squeezed hard enough to cut the air to his body. He instinctively gripped her wrists, but he didn't try to dissuade or dislodge her, staring up into that beautiful eye with all the love he could muster.

_I love you_. He mouthed at her, but her face remained contorted into harsh lines of cold malice, until the black spots danced along his vision, threatening to tug him under for eternity…where he would, hopefully, find some peace.

_K-Kitten!_ Plagg's voice brushed against his mind like silk enveloping barbed wire. It was soft, but beneath, he felt a level of scathing fury threatening to unleash a damn of destructive energy. _Don't you dare leave me!_

_It's okay_, he thought with a mental sigh, his head starting to lull backwards as his Lady continued to rob him of life. _It will all be okay…because now I can…rest…_

_I th-think I found Marinette!_

Chat Noir frowned because the name sparked a warmth in his soul that shouldn't have been possible with all the chaos and sorrow swirling in a cacophonous storm inside his heart and mind.

"M-Mar.." he croaked through the tight grasp, claws digging into crimson spandex as the strength returned to his legs. "M-Ma—"

_Don't say her name aloud, Adrien. I think…something is wrong. I think…there's a reason nobody else remembers. I don't think….even you're supposed to remember. Come back to me!_

His green eyes burst open, fire igniting inside of his body for the first time in, what felt like, an eternity along the hands of the cruel fates. He crossed his wrists as he slammed his palms into her forearms, forcing the muscles to comply. Her fingers twitched from the chain reaction, releasing his throat, and he sprung backwards to his feet.

_It isn't real. _Plagg's voice guided his courage, emboldening his mind.

"It isn't real," he spat. "You're not real," he declared firmly, even as the tears spilled freely down his face. "You're _dead_," he snarled, lunging.

***Shifting***

Adrien's orbs flew open as he scrambled amidst the impossible fountain of leaves, spewing his breath hurriedly. His lungs seethed, and he flipped over onto his side, retching before a mouthful of bile left his cracked lips to splatter the colorful death that enveloped his form.

"Breathe," Plagg insisted, his voice desperate.

"W-wish I had thought of that," he spat back, his throat gravelly and raw under the assault of his stomach acid. The man rolled onto his stomach as the agony cascaded through his form before it rapidly began dissipating once he stilled himself long enough to draw in a deep inhale of oxygen.

The acrid aftertaste of his puke made him cringe, and he closed his aching orbs as the quaking in his body subsided with the urgency to flail in a blind panic. Adrien released the lungful of retrieved gas, and he sighed, contently, all of his ails seemingly gone.

"Better?" Plagg floated to the ground in the crunch of deadened plant life, petting his sweat coated jaw with a cool, night comforting hand. "You don't seem to be on the verge of another seizure or delusion," he whispered, concerned.

"Y-You said you found M—her?"

"Keep your cool," the kwami warned sternly as the hero pulled himself up to his knees, fighting back a minor spell of nausea. "However, is _that_ by chance, the girl you're looking for?" He nodded his oversized head towards the distance.

Adrien's emerald orbs skimmed across the leaf laden ground, but it quickly shifted into a lush green lawn, with a large building set on a large flourishing grounds. It was accompanied with a beautiful stone fountain and vibrant flowers, encompassing the perfect picture of a brochure for some…rest home or something similar.

He frowned, as the shift in aesthetics didn't add up his mind, but what caught his attention was a woman, up in a window on the second floor, sitting on a sill, sketchpad on her bent knees. Her dirty blue locks were tangled and knotted, and he saw bruises licking along her exposed calves, but when she turned towards the glass to peer over the grounds, he recognized her beautiful face immediately.

"Th-That's her," he whispered, lurching forward, but Plagg tripped him, crashing them both to the ground.

"This is _way_ more complicated than you think, kid," he growled.

"She's right there, Plagg. Stop it!"

"ADRIEN!" His voice held a deadly edge as they both scurried to their 'feet' (Plagg floated upwards) "This place only appeared as you came back around from your mental breakdown," he hissed. "Before that, I couldn't even see it!"

The blonde frowned, staring into his kwami's searching eyes, and he licked his lips. "Wh-what's happening?"

"Look, she's _real_. I'm not debating that, I'm just saying there's a lot more going on here than we can discern, so we have to be _careful_. Don't say her name, to anyone, and don't mention personal details if we manage to get inside, okay?"

The model crossed his arms, hugging himself slowly. "You know something else, don't you? Something you're not telling me."

The obsidian cat hesitated, just for a second, but cringed, nodding. "I have a hunch," he admitted. "I will share if it becomes obvious," he said firmly. "I'm keeping it to myself until then."

As much as the feline hero wanted the argue, he swallowed around his questions, nodding. "D-Do we try to see her?"

"No," he said sharply. "We visit the grounds, and we see how it goes."

He didn't care for that plan as much, but he was going to trust the ancient. Anything to be _close_ to the beautiful hearted woman of his 'imagination.' She was the only thing left for his fractured mind to cling to for…some semblance of hope. Some…modicum of redemption in his vast wasteland of sin.

***POV Change***

Ladybug chewed on the end of her pencil worriedly, her mind dwindling away with each passing moment. Her body felt frail, and her brain wasn't far behind. She smudged a little more charcoal with her fingers along the outside of the green on her page, smiling softly.

"C'mon, one-oh-seven, it's feeding time." Someone's voice said gruffly, and she set the sketches down on the wide windowsill she sat on when…when she wasn't being tortured. The sun was kind today, warming her face through the clear pane, and she sighed, hating to leave the feeling behind, but her stomach twisted violently, black spots dancing along her scope.

The bluenette wasn't sure when the last time she ate was, but her body felt….empty of fuel. She cast a glance at her darkened sheet of paper, the one she'd been working on, and shivered. Almost the entire page was an onyx scribble. In the very center were two glowing emeralds, and just above that, was a halo, made of the purest gold shade she could muster. A streak of silver blurred through the middle of the portrait, but it didn't interrupt the other colors.

"Beautiful," she murmured, a small smile touching her lips before she exited her unlocked door. Her slender fingers touched the placard beside the barrier. 107. She'd been resorted to a number, since, nobody but _him_ called her Ladybug. Everyone else seemed to know her as Jane, or one-oh-seven, her room number.

"Get moving," someone demanded, and she squeaked, staring down at her charcoal covered fingers.

"M-My hands are a mess," she protested, but he shoved a hand into her hip.

"Not my problem," he snarled, and she staggered, trudging down the wide corridor towards the cafeteria. Plenty of people kept their eyes on her, so the woman shifted her gaze to the floor, willing her existence into oblivion. Nobody would notice if she disappeared. She didn't really…belong here.

Halfway to the food chamber, someone bumped into her side, and she fell off balance in her fumbling. Strong arms encircled her upper back, poising her in a dipped position, and her blue eyes blinked up into startled green orbs.

"S-Sorry," he whispered softly, offering half of a smile, but even the small gesture broke away several fractions of darkness gripping her heart.

Her trembling fingers reached up, touching his cheek, and the bluenette was surprised when he didn't recoil under her caress. As she moved her digits, gray smeared along his pretty skin…and she frowned, pulling it across his flesh.

"Wh-what…?" His voice sounded a little hitched, and she whimpered.

"Need to see," she said desperately, drawing her digits more urgently around his eyes and over the bridge of his nose, covering him in a light film of grey, but his bright green orbs blinked worlds at her. "Y-You're beautiful," she murmured, awestruck, voice catching in her tight throat. Chaton? No. it couldn't be here Chat…he…wouldn't be able to find her.

His face turned a bright shade of crimson. "A-Are you okay?"

"Y-You're beautiful," she repeated weakly. She tried to offer a grin, but her head dropped back as the fatigue and starvation carried her under.

**Author Notes:**

**Trying414, I'm glad you're still interested ^_^ hope you keep coming back! I've never seen PLL myself, but I've heard some things about it! Thanks for being here.**


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